Centrifugal reamer for oil wells and the like



w. DE FONTAINE CENTfiIFUGAL RIAIER FOR OIL WELLS AND THE LIKE Filed 001:. 251922 2 sheen-sum 1 auvemboz wwmfim 3513/6442, I

w. H. DE FONTALNE CENTRIFUGAL MAKER FOR OIL WELLS 'AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 2, 1922' 2 Sheets-Shoot a INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WADE HAMPTON n! FONTAINE, '01 NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- IENTS, TO GAUNTLETT d; COMPANY, INC., 01? NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

OENTBII'UGAL REAIEB FOB OIL WELLS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed October 2, 1992. Serial No. 591,759.

To all whom it may oo'ncem:

Be it known that I, WADE HAMPTON on FoN'rAINE, a citizen'of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhat- 6 tan, city, county, and State ofjNew York,

have invented a new and useful Improvement in Centrifugal Reamers for Oil Wells and the like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to centrifugal reamers for mechanical enlargement of the cavities at the bottoms 'of wells, and is adapted more particularly for use in oil wells to enable greatly increased flow of oil to be obtained. This result is secured by enlarging the opening at the bottom of the well, removing the compacted mass produced by shootin the well or .by the accumulation of ara in oil to the pump.

The object of my invention consists in the im rovement of devices of the type referred to in numerous respects, -so as to provide a practical working apparatus which is simple, compact and sturdy, and is adapted tosecure satisfactory resu ts over extended periods. of use. Among the. features, of the improvement embodied in-my inve'ntionare the provision of a reamer head which is adapted for ready attachment and detachment of reamer arms therefrom, whereby the reamer arms may be replaced at will; the provision of cutters arranged in stagered relation on the various arms whereby t e efiective diameter of the arms and the sturdiness and com actness of the device are eatly increase and the arrangement of fi ree reamer arms at substantially 120 do es apart, which serves to secure good bailiice durin o ration and at the same time enables t e evice to be made compact and rugged, and the individual arms to be of substantially maximum size and strength, so that the effect of centrifugal force is obtained to the best advanta for the production of rapid cutting. With a device in accordance with my invention all unnecessary and superfluous parts are dispensed with, and the relatively small space available for introduction of the reamer is made use of to the fullest extent so that an eflicient deasphalt and the like, which clog t e walls and prevent flow of vice can be introduced into the opening at the bottom of the well through the casing.

Other objects of my invention will appear in connection with the following description.

The drawings forming a. part of the specificationillustrate an embodiment of the invention, which is shown for illustration only, and not for limitation of the invention. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing one form of reamer embodying my invention as introduced into the oil well below the oil well casing, and attached to the pump tubing. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the reamer on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a" view similarto, Fi 1 and showing the reamer arms outwardly extended by centrifugal force, as in operation. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4, Fig. 2. Fig. 7

5 is a pore ective view of one of the cutters and its co lar, or s acing device. Fig. 6

is a longitudinal sectlon of one of the reamer arms having the cutters keyed thereon, and Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view on the 76 line 7-7, Fig. 6.-

. In making use of my improved ap aratus moil wells, the reamer laprefera ly attached to the pump tubing 10, as by means of, a con ling 1.1. Any suitable rovision 80 is made or imparting rotation to t e pump tubing 10, and the reamer carried thereby, as, for example, gears 12 and 13, and pulley 14, whichmay be operated from any convenient source of power. The pump tub;- ingis, of course, arranged so that it can be pulled out of the well from time totime and the sand and other cuttings removed, as by a sand pump. The pump tubing 10 is prefera-bly provided with a collar 15 ada' ted to centralize same in the lower end of t e casing 16 and to steady the pump tubing 10 during rotation.

The reamer of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 17 and comprises a head '18 which is preferably reduced at the upper end as shown at 19 and threaded on the outside to receive the coupling 11, though various other modes of attaching the head 18 to the, pump tubing 10 ma be resorted to.

The reamer arms are esignated generally by reference numeral 20 and are pivotally attached to the reamer head 18. In the form shown the arms 20 comprise the rods 21, which are screw threaded into stub arms 22 pivoted at 23' in the reamer head 18, and locked in place by lock nuts 24. The

' rods 21 may be provided at their outer ends with heads 21*, which serve as stops against outward movement of the cutters 25. With this arrangement the rods 21 can be readily removed and replaced in 'the head 18 whenever-desired, so that-the outer portions of the reamer arms, which are the parts most subject to wear, can be replaced when needed, there being practically no wear on the reamer head or the stub arms pivoted directly thereto. It is, of course, to be understood that the reamer arms may be of one piece construction and pivot/ed directly in the reamer head, if desired.

The reamer arms 20 are provided with 20 cutters so arranged thereon as to permit folding of the arms with the cutters thereon into the most compact space possible. In the form shown this result is secured by arranging the cutters, which are designated generally b reference numeral 25, in staggered relation so that when the arms 20 hang straight down, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, cutters 25 are arranged at diflerent heights on the respective arms and pass by one another and permit the necessary close foldin of the device to enable it to pass throug thecasin A preferable mode of obtaining this re ation of the cutters 25, which ma be referred to for convenience as staggere consists in providing the in dividual cutters 25 with a collar 26. While the collar need not be integral with the cutter, the collars are here shown as integral with the cutters and this is a convenient and simple method ofmanufacture and is" of assistance inthe ready assembly of the. parts. It will be seen that-the three cutter arms, when in dependent vertical position to pass downthrough the casing, occupy practically all the space under the head and each cutter arm is of the maximum section, and that all wed es or otherdevices arranged between t e cutters are dispensed with, and all the available space utilized to the greatest advantage to enable the use of heavy massive arms which are well adapted to swing outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force when rotated.

While it s generally preferable to have the cutters rotatable upon the rods 21 so that they may turn more or less in striking the face of the rock thereby resenting a fresh surface at all times, it s sometimes desirable to have, at least in the case of ones of the arms, a substantially rigid relation between the cutters and the arm,'and if'desired, one or more of the arms ma; have the cutters keyed thereto, as shown 11 Figs. 6 and 7. p

The use and operation of the device will be readily understood} from the foregoing. The reamer, being provided with the arm rods 21' and with cutters arranged thereon and secured in place inthe stub arm 22, is attached to the pump tubing and lowered into place. Rotation being imparted thereto, the heavy, massive arms with their cutters'are thrown out by the centrifugal force, as indicated in Fig. 3, resulting in the rapid cutting away of the sand and rock to a material distance on every side of the axis of the well. The material thus cut away being removed from time to time, an enlarged cavity 27 is secured at the bottom of the well, which has been cut clear back to fresh rock and entirely freed from accu-. mulations of parafiin, asphalt and the like, so that greatly increased flow of oil is obtained. If the flow of oil should be decreased at any time after the reaming 'out of the well bottom inthe manner described, it is only necessary to repeat the operation,

.preferably with slightly elongated reamer arms, whereu on' a new and fresh surface is exposed. ubsequent enlargements are, of course, performed at very little expense, as little more than a scraping operation-is required.

' I claim:

1., A device of the class described, comprising a ead and three reamer arms which are pivota 1y mounted in substantially equidistant radlal slots in the lower end of the head and carry each a plurality of cutter wheels, the arms being of heavy construc- 1 0 tion and the cutter wheels of maximum diameter permittin the arms normally to depend vertically ownward below the head with the outer peripheries of the wheels substantially flush with the periphery of the head.

2. A device of the class described, comrising a head, three stub arms which are pivotally mounted in substantially equidistant radial slots in the lower -end of the head, andthree reamer arms which are detachably secured each to the free end of a stub arm and carry each a plurality of cutter wheels of maximum diameter permitting the arms to hang vertically downward below the head with the outer peripheries of the wheels substantially flush with the periphery of the head and which are swung outwardly to operative position solely by the action of centrifugal force.

3. In a reamer, a head, a plurality of arms pivoted thereon and cutters on said arms, said cutters being so arranged as to pass between one another when the arms are 1n folded position. I 125 4. In a reamer for oil wells, a head, means for securing said head to a well tubing, three slots cut in the bottom surface of sald head at an angle of substantially degrees to one another, three reamer arms pivoted in said slots, and cutter wheels'on actuated reamer arms pivotally mounted in said arms, the cutter wheels on the respecthe outer end of the head and cutters'nontive arms being arranged in substantially rotatably mounted on one of said arms and -10 staggered relation so as to permit close foldr y mounted on he her arms- 6 ing of the arms together. In testimony whereof, I have slgned my v5.-A device of the class described, comname hereto- 1 prising a head, a plurality of centrifugally- WADE HAMPTON DE FONTAINE. 

